


The devil you know (unfinished // dropped)

by birman



Category: VIXX
Genre: I have notes of many stand-alone episodes of wontaek's daily life, M/M, Mainly Comedy, Sorry folks!, even if it was supposed to run longer, implied ken/hongbin as well, main story is basically all here, some fluff and angst as well, this story can be read as a finished story, vixx - au, vixx - supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 22:03:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20664506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birman/pseuds/birman
Summary: please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.   
I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)

Jung Taekwoon put on his running shoes and closed the door behind him.  
It was very early in the morning, the streets were still empty and it was the perfect time to go out for a run.

He had a lot of things on his mind that day, and running usually helped him face any problem. He put on his earbuds, pressed play and started running.  
He didn’t follow his usual path this morning, just ran without giving much thought to where he was going. He chose smaller backstreets, as far from the city noise as he could; every now and then he would stop to check his surroundings, hopping in place and music blasting through his ipod, head turning left and right before deciding which way to go.

Taekwoon had been running for almost an hour now and was feeling thirsty. He cursed under his breath because he ran farther than usual and had no water bottle nor coins to get one.  
As if answering his unspoken desire, Taekwoon saw a small table set up by the side of the road when he turned the next corner. In front of it, a girl was handing out samples of a new vitamin water: ‘Excuse me sir, we’re testing a new product. Please take one, it’s free!’  
He nodded a quiet ‘thank you’ and grabbed the bottle, stopping his jog to open it and gulp down half of its contents.

Refreshed, he made his way back home through another set of backstreets because, why not, since he was in an exploring mood, he might as well explore some more, it might come in handy for future runs.  
As soon as he arrived in his neighbourhood though, he groaned as he saw The Mean Old Lady at the end of the street, spraying water on the pavement with a hose. Of course, that wasn’t her real name, but it was suspiciously surprising how often Taekwoon needed to dodge that jet of water that looked like it was aimed right at him, right when he was running by.  
He sighed, wishing that today The Mean Old Lady wasn’t feeling particularly mean, because he was tired and wasn’t really sure he could avoid getting an outdoor shower this time.  
But, as Taekwoon ran past the old lady, the hose she was holding made some gurgling noise and began spraying water all over her, as if it was punctured.  
Taekwoon felt sorry for her, but couldn’t stop himself from grinning, and thinking that maybe today was his lucky day.

When he closed the door of his apartment behind him, he headed straight for the shower, scattering his clothes all over the floor. He would pick them up when he was done, as usual.  
Twenty minutes later he was standing in his kitchen, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair still damp. He was glaring at his coffee machine, guilty of the capital crime of not working when he so needed his morning dose of caffeine.  
Since his glare didn’t seem to work on objects the same way it did on humans, he settled for a well-assessed punch on top of the damn machine.  
‘Why aren’t you working’ he mumbled.

Taekwoon didn’t know if that was really his lucky day or what, but after it got hit, the machine spluttered and started pouring coffee once again.  
He smiled, filled his mug and padded to the living room. There was still some time left before he needed to head to work, he could finish that book he was reading.

But Taekwoon almost dropped his coffee as soon as he stepped into the other room: sitting in the middle of his sofa, legs crossed and arms spread over the backrest like he owned the place, there was a person.  
A weird, blue-haired, droopy-eyed guy with a smirk plastered over his face. And he was staring at him.  
“Hey. You owe me your soul.”

To Taekwoon’s credit, he didn’t drop his mug. He put it on the table, and proceeded to glare at the stranger, hands balling up in fists, his whole body ready to attack if needed.  
To the stranger’s credit, he was totally unimpressed by Taekwoon’s glare (which was truly something).  
“Who are you? How did you get in?” Taekwoon’s voice was soft but had a threatening undertone to it.

The stranger’s grin got larger as he stood up, brushing imaginary dust from his black pants.  
Hands in his pockets, he took slow, lazy steps till he was right in front of Taekwoon, smile never leaving his handsome features.  
He was as tall as Taekwoon, shoulders not as broad but gracefully slender and perfectly proportioned.

“My name’s Ravi, and I’m a demon. You made a pact with me this morning, and now I came to collect my payment. Your soul.”  
Taekwoon’s eyebrows almost disappeared into his head from the surprise.

Then, so very fast, Taekwoon grabbed that weird creepy guy by the back of his neck and half-dragged him, half-pushed him to the door.  
“Y-yah! You can’t… we have a contract!” Ravi stuttered as he was thrown - very roughly - out of Taekwoon’s house, door slamming hard in his face.

Taekwoon stared at the closed door for a few seconds and let out a loud sigh, making a mental note of changing the entry code before going to work.  
He turned around, but before he could take more than one step into his now Ravi-less living room, a cloud of light-blue smoke exploded in front of him, a somehow familiar figure emerging from it: “Hey! That wasn’t very nice! I’m trying to work here!” the blue-haired boy whined.

\---------------------------------

A few minutes later they were both sitting on Taekwoon’s sofa, two fresh cups of coffee in their hands (Taekwoon gulped down his first one when Ravi appeared out of thin air, to calm himself).  
“I am sure I’ve summoned no demon, there must be some kind of misunderstanding” Taekwoon explained quietly.  
“You sure did!” snorted Ravi, “demons don’t appear unless summoned. Look.” he pulled up a sleeve of his black shirt to reveal a tattoo on the inside of his forearm: a six-point star enclosed in a series of hexagons and circles. Inside the star, what looked like two X’s and a I.  
“This is my summoning sign. You drew it this morning.”  
“I did no such thing.”  
“You did.”

The blue-haired boy waved his hand as if to dismiss the other man’s words, but his gesture made a map appear, floating in the middle of the room like some sort of 3D hologram.  
“See? This is the route you took this morning.”  
With another flick of his wrist, a red line began forming, starting from the place that Taekwoon could now recognize as his house, slowly drawing out the same pattern that was on Ravi’s arm, even if rougher-looking.  
Taekwoon frowned as he watched the sign unfold under his eyes, recognizing his new jogging course.  
“It was a coincidence.” he said in a soft tone, eyes never leaving the floating image.  
The blue-haired demon snorted: “Coincidence or not, you summoned me. I even granted the three wishes that came with the summoning. Now it’s time for you to pay up.”

At these words, Taekwoon turned to look at him: “What wishes? I haven’t asked for anything.”  
Ravi sighed, then counted on his fingers: “First, I gave you water when you were thirsty; second, I avoided you an unwelcome shower; third, I fixed your coffee machine. Three wishes.”  
Taekwoon shook his head: “I never made any wish. I would have remembered.”  
Another snort, followed by that ever-present smirk: “Does it make a difference if you just thought them instead of asking them out loud? Hurry up and sign the contract, I want to go back home as soon as poss-hey, are you listening to me?”

Ravi huffed, annoyed, as Taekwoon clearly stopped listening to him to make a phone call.  
“Hakyeon-ah? Yes, I’m… you’re so noisy. Be quiet, I need to ask you something.”  
He started pacing around the rooms as he talked on the phone, voice too soft for Ravi to catch what he was saying, nodding every now and then when it was his turn to listen.  
After a couple of minutes or so, he went back to where Ravi was, and pressed the speakers button: “...-understood? they can’t force you to do anything if they don’t have your explicit consent, and likewise, you need to clearly ask for the services. Otherwise, it’s null. Don’t sign anything, and if you’re going to, you need to let me read the contract first, ok Taekwoon-ah?” a soothing male voice came out of the phone.

Taekwoon thanked the other person and hung up, ignoring the fact that the voice was still chatting away (or maybe he just didn’t care, which was probably the case), and looked back at Ravi.  
The blue-haired demon narrowed his eyes suspiciously: “Who was that?”  
“A friend of mine. He’s a lawyer.”  
Ravi groaned loud: “Oh for hell’s sake…”

He was about to speak again, when Taekwoon’s tv turned itself on.  
Both men looked at the screen: it was showing a very handsome young man, younger than them, with short auburn hair, dressed in black shirt and pants, much like Ravi.  
Ravi went pale: “Oh shit…”   
He dived behind Taekwoon, trying to make himself as small as possible, mumbling under his breath: “OhshitoshitohshitohshitImscrewedohshit…”

Taekwoon raised his eyebrows and looked over his shoulder at the grown-up man now acting like a scared child.  
“Who’s that?” he asked the blue-haired boy.  
“He’s my boss. Lord Sanghyuk, Satan’s youngest son.”  
There was a sigh coming from the tv screen: “Ravi-yah… I can see you, you know.”

Ravi stopped cursing and stepped out from behind Taekwoon, a smile on his face: “Boss! What a surprise!”  
The demon on the screen looked down at his fingers, clearly bored: “What’s taking you so long Ravi?”  
“Ehrm… I’ll be back soon, I only need to make him sign the contract…”  
“It should have been done already Ravi. You get summoned, you grant the wishes, they sign. Easy as that. Why does this never work for you?”  
“I never summoned him.” Taekwoon cut in the conversation with his soft voice.  
The new demon looked at him with a smile: “Care to explain, human?”  
“I made his sign while I was jogging this morning, it was a coincidence.”  
“That’s irrelevant actually.” Sanghyuk waved a hand “What about the wishes.”  
Taekwoon shook his head: “I didn’t wish for anything. He said it was the same even if I just thought them, but Hakyeon said-”  
“Hakyeon?”  
“My friend. He’s a lawyer.” he heard Ravi groan again by his side, “He said that there can be no contract if I didn’t ask for anything explicitly.”

The auburn-haired boy let out a choked laugh, then looked at Ravi: “You know we don’t go against lawyers Ravi-yah… I’m sorry, but from now on you’re on your own. You better get that soul and come back to Hell, or learn the human way. Bye bye!”  
And with that, the tv screen turned black once again.

Ravi let himself fall on the sofa, face in hands, cursing loud.  
“What’s happening? Why don’t demons go against lawyers?”  
“You’re friends with one, you should know why! And demons can’t go back to Hell if they don’t have a signed contract… Oh Hades’ balls I’m screwed!”

“Say…” he said, stopping his complaining to look at Taekwoon from behind his fingers: “Can I stay here for a couple of days?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey! Why don’t you drive to work? Why do we have to walk?”  
“I don’t own a car. I prefer walking, it’s not that far. Now shut up, you’re annoying.”  
Ravi stuck his hands in his pockets and followed him, making faces at Taekwoon’s back.  
He stopped only when Taekwoon saw him in the reflection of a shop window and hit him.

Ten minutes later they stepped into a bookshop. It wasn’t one of those chain shops you can find everywhere nowadays, but a small bookshop with a coffee corner, a couple of cozy tables and seats included.  
“Bin-ah! Sorry I’m late!” Taekwoon walked up to the coffee shop counter, where a boy was busy placing pastries in the glass case by the cash register.  
“Ah, don’t worry hyung, it’s been a quiet morning so far.” the boy turned around and smiled, dimples showing. He stared for a few seconds at the two men in front of him, as there was clearly one more person than he was used to.  
Then he grinned: “Oh, who’s this hyung? Your new boyfriend?”  
He laughed as he immediately stepped back, avoiding the punch that Taekwoon swung in his direction.  
“He’s… he’s my cousin’s friend, Ravi. He’s been living abroad.”  
“Ravi? That’s an unusual name. I’m Hongbin, nice to meet you.”  
“Hey.”  
“Bin-ah, get him something to drink, will you? I’ll be right back.”

“So… you sure you two are not dating?” Hongbin handed Ravi a tall cup filled with a pink beverage, and a straw.  
“Nope. Our relationship is strictly a business one. I’m actually a demon and I’m trying to get his soul.”  
Hongbin’s eyes widened, and he laughed out loud: “You’re funny, I like you! Well, good luck with that... Taekwoon-hyung is a soulless bastard!”  
“Ha! I knew it!”

When Taekwoon emerged from the back room, he found Ravi happily sucking on a straw, his cup almost empty.  
“Strawberry and cream smoothie? I thought demons drank heavier stuff.”  
Ravi glared at him, a light blush spreading on his cheeks: “What, only because we live in hell we can’t enjoy smoothies?”  
Taekwoon’s lips curved up in a half-smile, and he walked to the counter, whispering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘cute’.  
Ravi glared at him some more, making loud slurping noises with his straw as he emptied his cup.

The demon spent the next few hours either following Taekwoon around the shop when there were no customers, or sitting on a chair when the other man was busy helping someone find the book they were looking for, his gaze never leaving Taekwoon, as if he was studying him.

Around noon though he walked up to the history section where Taekwoon was and flopped down on the small sofa customers used to sit and read, grumbling: “Is this what you do all day? It’s booooring.”  
Taekwoon shot him a deadly stare: he didn’t like it when people talked bad about what he loved, and he definitely loved his job: “You can leave if you’re bored, I won’t stop you.”  
Ravi grinned: “Sign that contract, and I’ll leave.”  
“My lawyer disagrees.”  
Taekwoon grinned as he heard Ravi curse behind his back.

\---------------------------------

“Can you cook?” Taekwoon asked the demon once they were back at the apartment later that night.  
“Of course not. Why should a demon cook?” he laughed, taking a couple of steps closer to the other man.  
“But,” he said, voice low, “I could make it that you won’t have to cook ever again. Or work, if you wish so. All you have to do is…”  
“...I know. Forget it.”

Taekwoon turned his back to the demon and started on their dinner. Ravi leaned on the counter behind him, arms crossed and glaring.  
“I’m willing to give you an extra wish, most people would jump at the occasion. Why won’t you?”  
“Not interested.”  
“What is it that you want? Tell me and I’ll give it to you.”  
“There’s nothing I need. I like my life as it is.”  
“But…”  
Taekwoon turned around and threw something at Ravi.  
The demon was taken by surprise and didn’t react, flinching only when something small and grainy hit him.

Ravi disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke.  
Taekwoon blinked and looked at his hand and at the jar of salt he was holding: “It worked…”  
“You… you asshole!” came a voice from ground level.  
Taekwoon looked down and almost dropped the salt: Ravi was still there, in the middle of his kitchen floor. Only, he was a miniature version of himself, probably no taller than 15 cm.   
Taekwoon crouched down and, with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, offered his palm for the mini demon to climb on.  
Who was positively fuming.  
“How the hell did you know about salt?” he growled, pointing a tiny finger at Taekwoon’s face.  
“I did my homework.”

Taekwoon placed him on top of the counter and resumed cooking.  
“Why didn’t you disappear?”  
The demon just glared at him and remained silent.  
Taekwoon poked at him with his finger: “I said why didn’t you disappear.”  
Ravi snorted: “Normally I would, and go back to Hell. But since I can’t do that, I’ve just lost my powers. Temporarily.”  
“How long will you stay like this?”  
“I have no idea, a few hours maybe. Till I get my strength back.”  
Taekwoon smiled as he poked him again. Ravi squirmed and tried to get away: “Stop that, it tickles!”  
“Cute.”  
“Jerk.”

Taekwoon enjoyed watching Ravi eat his fried rice from a saucer, helping himself with a teaspoon.  
Ravi, on the other hand, was not as amused. He kept complaining that Taekwoon’d better leave the leftover rice where he could find it, because when he would finally return to his regular size, he’d be as hungry as a behemoth.  
Taekwoon made a point of taking a very generous second helping at Ravi’s words.

Night-time accommodation was another issue: the miniature demon whined that Taekwoon’s spare room was too small and cramped with his stuff, and Taekwoon threatened to have him sleep on the couch without any blanket.  
Ravi huffed and made himself comfortable on the fluffy pillow.

\---------------------------------

Taekwoon turned off his alarm clock and looked out of the window, wondering if he would really find a sleeping, blue-haired demon in his spare room when he got up, or if it was just a dream.

His hopes got miserably crushed as soon as he opened the door where Ravi was though, as a loud snoring sound came from the direction of the bed.  
The demon had gone back to his full size sometime during the night, arms and legs splayed all over the single bed.  
Taekwoon opened the window and shook Ravi a couple of times, telling him to get up, then left the room.

He was brushing his teeth when Ravi barged into the bathroom and headed for the shower.   
His guest was wearing only his boxers, and Taekwoon caught a glimpse of a tanned, lean torso before he looked the other way, a little embarrassed: “I’m not done yet.”  
“Do you think I care?” came the reply in a sleepy voice.  
Taekwoon rinsed his mouth and left the room as he heard the water in the shower go.

The blue-haired demon joined him in the kitchen a few minutes later.  
Taekwoon raised his eyebrows from behind his coffee mug as Ravi walked into the room wearing only a towel around his hips.  
The half-naked man picked up a piece of toast and munched on it before flashing a grin: “Go on, keep looking, I don’t mind.” he said as he moved close to Taekwoon and placed his hands on the counter behind Taekwoon, effectively trapping him against the piece of furniture.   
“You could even touch if you wanted to,” he purred, “it would only cost... you know what.”

Taekwoon, whose gaze had been shifting between Ravi’s eyes and mouth as he walked closer, sighed. He flicked the demon’s forehead and left the room, Ravi’s curses following him through the apartment.

The walk to the bookshop was eerily silent, the demon not having uttered a single word since they left.  
Taekwoon turned to look at him a couple of times, and every time he was met with the other’s intense gaze on him, expression thoughtful. Somehow he felt that didn’t bode well, but he couldn’t really do anything about it.

“What’s this.” Ravi grunted, looking at the apron that Taekwoon pushed into his hands.  
“You’re going to help here starting today.”  
“What? No. Fuckin’. Way.”  
“You eat and sleep at my place. You either work here or leave.”  
The glare that Ravi gave Taekwoon could have burned him to the ground, but in the end he obeyed and put the apron over the grey and blue raglan shirt and black cargo pants that he was wearing.

“You’re cute when you pout.” teased Taekwoon. “Come, there are boxes of books waiting to be put on display, and then you can go help Hongbin.”  
Ravi watched Taekwoon’s back as he walked to the back-room before following him, hissing under his breath: “Yeah, laugh now while you can, I’ll make you wish you’d signed that contract right away…”


	3. Chapter 3

Taekwoon started thinking quite soon that maybe having Ravi work in his shop wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Towards the end of the morning, as he was bringing a stack of books to the back of the shop, he heard someone crying from the children literature section.  
Curious, he decided to check, and groaned at what he saw: a child, probably not older than five, was standing in front of the small table that Taekwoon put there for his youngest readers. He was crying and pointing at… Ravi, sitting in one of the small chairs and sucking on a lollypop.

Taekwoon shot the demon his best glare, and kneeled beside the little boy: “What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”  
The child looked at him and between sobs told him: “That… mean man… stole… my candy.”  
Taekwoon turned to look at Ravi, who looked completely unfazed: “What? It’s my favourite flavour.”  
Taekwoon asked Hongbin to give his little customer a cupcake, and also told him to choose a book, as a present. The child recovered his good mood pretty fast, and also his mother was quick to convince that cake and book were part of some celebrations held by the shop and perfectly normal for that day.

When they left, Taekwoon marched back to the children’s section, where Ravi was still sitting on that small chair, reading a Santa Claus book and laughing out loud.  
Taekwoon kicked him and the demon landed on his butt, cursing.  
“What the fuck?”  
“I don’t care if you play your petty games with me,” Taekwoon said in a low voice, face mere inches from the demon’s, “but you better leave my customers alone. Especially if they’re children.”  
Ravi snorted: “Or what? Do you think you scare me?”  
“I don’t. But,” Taekwoon replied, taking something out of his apron pocket and shoving it in Ravi’s face, “I could always drop some of this salt on you and leave you here for the kids to play. Oops. Clumsy me.”  
Ravi watched him leave and shivered: “You… monster.”

Whether Ravi got scared by that threat or not Taekwoon couldn’t say, but the demon left his customers alone.  
His behaviour didn’t change much though, sitting around the bookshop all day and generally trying to work as little as possible. Usually until Taekwoon found him and dragged him around the shop, making him do the heaviest chores he could think of.

\---------------------------------

“Phew…” Hongbin sighed the next Saturday evening as they closed the store. “This week has been hell, I’m so glad it’s over.”  
“Oh, I wouldn’t go so far as call it Hell, this was far nicer.” Ravi mumbled as he sucked on his daily smoothie.  
“Nice? Seriously! First we had those Bibles printed with the works of the marquis de Sade instead, then that swarm of flies that came in from god only knows where and we had to keep the shop closed for the day, and then... all my coffee turned sour!”

Hongbin looked as if that last mishap was a personal affront to him, and Taekwoon had to look away because he felt like laughing at the poor boy.  
“Don’t worry Bin-ah, I’m sure next week will be much better.”  
He shot Ravi one of his best glares as he said this, but the demon just smirked as he chewed on the straw of his empty plastic cup.

\---------------------------------

Taekwoon came out of the bathroom after his shower to find Ravi sitting on the sofa, eating candies by the handful from a bag in his hands. Two more empty similar bags were on the floor.  
“How can you eat all those candies… Your teeth are going to rot.”  
“I’m celebrating. Because you” he pointed one of his long fingers at him, “will sign that contract very soon, and I’ll be able to go home.”

Taekwoon sat next to him and grabbed a candy: “What happens if you don’t bring a soul back?”  
Ravi glared at him, more for the loss of the sweet than for the question: “I get stuck here I guess?”  
“You mean you don’t know?”   
The demon shrugged: “I’ve never cared about it, never happened to me.” He shot Taekwoon an exasperated glance: “Till you crossed my path.”  
“You should have played your cards better.” Taekwoon replied, stealing another candy.  
“Stop eating my candies.”  
“I paid for them. Plus you’ve eaten too many already, you won’t miss a couple of them.”

Taekwoon wasn’t expecting it, so when he found himself lying on his back on the sofa, Ravi on top of him pinning him down, he just blinked in surprise.  
“Those. Are. My. Candies.”   
The demon glared at him, narrowing his eyes: “Why are you so different… Why must you be so hard to convince?”  
He tilted his head to one side and then the other, as if he was assessing him, a grin spreading on his face: “You’re quite good-looking… I could keep you as a servant once we’re back in Hell, what do you say? You’ve been nice to me after all.”  
Taekwoon was looking at Ravi with wide eyes: there was something strange in the way he was trying to focus as he stared at him, and in the way he was speaking, almost… but it couldn’t be, could it?  
“Are you drunk?”  
Ravi giggled: “Oops.”

He slowly leaned in, closing his eyes… then rested his forehead on Taekwoon’s shoulder.  
Taekwoon waited a moment, then shook him: Ravi rolled on the side, snoring gently.  
Trying not to wake him up, Taekwoon managed to get up from the sofa.   
He threw a blanket over the demon and sighed heavily: “You get drunk on sugar and _I_ am the weird one?”

\---------------------------------

“Bin-ah, no sugar for Ravi today. Only black coffee.”  
Ravi looked up from where he was sitting, head in his hands: “Wha-... You can’t do this! You know I don’t like bitter stuff!”  
Taekwoon shot a meaningful glance at Hongbin, then walked away.  
“Wow… nice hangover.” Hongbin placed a mug of steamy black coffee in front of Ravi, who made a face: “He doesn’t have to know, give me a smoothie, some fruit juice, anything but not this.”  
“Sorry, I like my job and I plan on keeping it.”

Ravi took a sip and groaned. Well, that damn Taekwoon might have forbidden Hongbin to give him any sweet drinks, but no-one told him he couldn’t use his magic, right?  
He flicked his fingers over the mug and took another sip… still bitter.  
Ravi frowned, confused. He repeated the gesture, and this time the drink was slightly sweeter.  
Not what he had aimed for, but he blamed his splitting headache and didn’t worry too much.

The blue-haired demon did start to worry by the end of the day though.  
His magic seemed off somehow, not working properly or, if it did, a lot weaker than it used to be.  
Even Taekwoon noticed that something was wrong, because he sat down next to him at one point in the afternoon, and handed him a chocolate chip cookie: “You look down.”  
Ravi looked at him, then took the sweet: “It’s nothing.”  
“You’re annoying and obnoxious, and you never shut up. But you can talk to me if you want to.”  
“Wow… stop flattering me.”  
Taekwoon hit him lightly on the head with his knuckles and left.  
Ravi squinted and pointed at Taekwoon’s back, but didn’t manage anything more than loosening his apron a little. What the hell was going on?

It was almost closing time, the shop was empty, and Ravi was feeling quite miserable.  
His magic malfunctioning was unsettling to say the least, especially since he had no idea what was wrong.  
He was sitting in one of the armchairs of the coffee shop when someone walked up to him: “Hey.”  
“I’m not the barista. He’ll be right here.” Ravi replied without even looking at the person in front of him.  
The man huffed and sat down in front of him: “I’m not here for a coffee.”   
Ravi took a suspicious look at the newcomer, a tall man with plump lips and almost elf-like ears: “I don’t know you.”  
“No you don’t.” the man smiled, “But I know who you are. And you might need my help soon.”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I’m Jaehwan. And you’re having a problem with this if I’m not mistaken.” He grabbed Ravi’s arm and pushed his sleeve up to bare his symbol.

The demon pulled his arm away from the other’s hold, surprised: “Who are you?”  
Jaehwan smiled again, holding his hands up in front of him: “Calm down. I am like you.”  
Ravi narrowed his eyes, studying him: yes, he could feel it now. It was very faint, but it was without doubt the same power as his.

“Nothing’s wrong with me.” Ravi growled.  
“It’s ok.” Jaehwan laughed as he looked around, his eyes landing on Hongbin behind the counter and following his movements. “I think I’ll be around here quite often anyway.”  
He stood and walked to the counter, and Ravi heard him order a latte and flirt shamelessly with his fellow employee.

\---------------------------------

Jaehwan came back the following afternoon. Ravi saw him sitting at the coffee shop, sipping from a cup and throwing adoring glances at Hongbin.  
He grabbed a chair and sat down: “Ok, exactly who are you and what’s going on with me.”  
“Hi. I knew we’d talk again. Like I said yesterday, I am like you. I’m Jaehwan, and I used to be a demon.”  
“Used to?”  
“Well, I still am, technically.”  
“Why do I feel you so faint then? Have you been banned from Hell?”  
“What? No!” Jaehwan sighed: “As you know, you don’t necessarily need to be evil to be a demon. Sure, it helps in your line of work most of the times, but in the end, it’s just the place where you were born, right? I didn’t feel like I belonged there, so I chose to live on Earth instead.”  
“You can do that?”  
“Of course you can!” Jaehwan grinned, but his grin disappeared quickly from his face: “And this brings us to the matter at hand actually. A demon’s power is strictly connected to Hell, I’m sure you know this, but what they fail to inform demons is that this power weakens the longer you stay away from Hell.”   
He looked away in thought, lips pursed: “How do I put this… Basically, as a demon, you possess magic on your own, but you need to be in Hell to recharge and keep that magic strong. Your symbol is the means through which this is made possible, and it’s also what keeps you connected to Hell.”  
“How do you know this? And how do I know you’re not lying?”  
“Oh, I used to go out with someone high enough in the demon hierarchy once. He so loved to talk.”  
He stared at Ravi for a moment: “How long have you been on Earth? A week?”  
“A bit more, yeah. Why?”  
“I bet your magic began to act weird by now, not always working properly? What about your symbol?”  
“What about it?”  
Jaehwan bit his lip: “I told you before that your symbol is what connects you to Hell. But it still needs to be recharged. Otherwise it’s going to slowly fade away. And when it’s gone, so is your ability to go back to Hell.”  
“But I can’t go back till I get Taekwoon to sign that contract!”  
Jaehwan shrugged: “Either you succeed very soon, or you better get accustomed to life on Earth, sorry.”

Ravi was dumbstruck: “If this is true, why aren’t we told about it?”  
“I guess Hell has an over-abundance of demons, and doesn’t care about those who struggle in doing their job. Only the strong survive?”  
He shot an apologetic look at Ravi, and stood: “Life’s not bad here. The only big difference is that your magic won’t be as strong as before.”   
He walked to the counter and talked briefly to Hongbin before coming back, handing something to Ravi: “My phone number, in case you need me.”  
“Why did you tell me all this?”  
“Would you rather find out the hard way when it’s too late? I like being here, I chose this life, but you didn’t. Maybe you want to go back, and you’re running out of time.”

Jaehwan left, and Ravi just sat there, thinking about what the other demon told him. He didn’t want to believe any of that, but... it made sense.  
He woke up from his torpor when someone placed a cup in front of him. He looked up and saw both Taekwoon and Hongbin standing beside him, looking worried.  
“Hongbin made your favourite smoothie. Are you alright?”  
“I… yeah. I was just thinking.”  
“Let’s go, we’re closing up.”

“Why do you care what happens to me?” Ravi asked as they were walking home.  
“Well,” Hongbin began, “I know we haven’t known each other for long, and I’m still not entirely sure what your relationship with Taekwoon-hyung is, but I like you, and we’re friends of sorts I guess. And friends look out for each other, no?”  
Taekwoon looked at Ravi and nodded, smiling briefly.  
The demon sighed and rubbed his temples. He needed to get some confirmations from his boss as soon as possible, and he felt a huge headache coming on.

“Hey. How do humans live without magic?”  
Ravi and Taekwoon were almost home now, Hongbin having gone his way a couple of blocks before.  
“We just do I suppose. We’ve never had magic to begin with.” Taekwoon looked at him for a few moments: “You don’t use it all the time either.”  
“Yeah, but it’s still there, you know?”  
“Why are you asking? Are you ok?”  
“I… I’m fine. Just curious.”  
Taekwoon shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and took a deep breath: “Humans make do with what they have I guess. If we miss something, we try and get over it, or compensate it somehow. It’s not a bad way of living in my opinion.”  
Ravi fell silent again after that. He looked deep in thought, and Taekwoon let him be.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that night, after Taekwoon fell asleep, Ravi quietly turned on the television in the living room, flipping through random channels (or so it seemed) till a familiar face showed up on the screen.  
“Ravi-yah, I’m quite busy, I hope this won’t take long.” Hyuk said, clearly annoyed.  
“It won’t, boss.”

Ravi briefly told him what he had learned earlier, without mentioning Jaehwan’s name.  
“Who told you this?” Hyuk frowned.  
“It doesn’t matter. Is it true?”  
The demon on the other side of the tv screen sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes: “Just be over with that human and hurry back, ok?”  
Ravi opened his mouth to argue some more, but the screen went black. He knew it’d be useless to try and call his boss again, and he had all the confirmation he needed anyway.

\---------------------------------

Taekwoon was sure that something was wrong with Ravi, but the demon just wouldn’t talk to him.  
He tried confronting him directly, but, just like the day before, the demon merely laughed at his attempt and left with the excuse of some unfinished work.

Taekwoon later saw him sitting at the coffee shop with the same guy from the two previous days. Hongbin said his name was Jaehwan, and that he was an old friend of Ravi’s.  
That only confirmed Taekwoon’s suspicions about the demon having some kind of problem. If only he would talk to him…

\---------------------------------

“So you were telling the truth. What now?” Ravi asked Jaehwan as he sat down at his table.  
“It’s still ‘get that soul or get exiled’ I’m afraid.”  
Ravi put his head in his hands and groaned in frustration.  
Jaehwan grabbed his wrist and made him look at him: “You should have been able to use some trick to make him sign. Why couldn’t you? I know I feel bad cheating on people… Is that it? Or maybe you’ve grown fond of that human?”  
At those words, Ravi snatched his hand away, glaring: “I have NOT grown fond of anyone.”  
“Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I know _I’m_ fond of some humans.” Jaehwan grinned, throwing a side glance at Hongbin behind the counter.  
Ravi shook his head and left, muttering curses under his breath.

Jaehwan was still sipping his coffee and reading the book he’d just bought when he noticed someone standing by his table.  
“Yes?” he said sweetly, looking up at Taekwoon’s frowning face.  
“You’re like Ravi, aren’t you? What’s wrong with him?”  
“Straight to the point I see.” Jaehwan motioned for him to sit down, but Taekwoon shook his head.  
“I’m sorry,” the demon continued, “but if Ravi hasn’t said anything to you, then it’s not my place to do it.”

Jaehwan looked at the man towering over him for a few seconds, then a warm smile broke on his face: “You’re worried about him.”  
Taekwoon looked away, his cheeks tinged with the palest of pink: “Is there something wrong with that?”  
“No, not at all. I’m glad someone looks after him. Would you…” Jaehwan began and then stopped, unsure: “Would you be willing to help him if he needed it?”  
Taekwoon nodded, and Jaehwan picked up his book again, satisfied: “I hope you will remember this.”

\---------------------------------

Ravi avoided both Taekwoon and Hongbin as much as possible for the whole day, and the day after as well.  
He even refused the bag of candies that Taekwoon bought him in the hopes that he’d open up and tell him what was worrying him so.

On the third day of that weird behaviour, Taekwoon tried once again to make Ravi talk before leaving home for work.  
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”  
“Why are you so stubborn? Leave me alone!”  
“I won’t until you explain-”  
“I have nothing to explain to you.”  
Ravi tried to leave, but Taekwoon grabbed his arm: “Hongbin and I are worried. I thought… we’re your friends?”  
“Friends?” the demon scoffed, turning around and pushing Taekwoon against the wall: “Don’t kid yourself, I am a demon. I don’t care about you. I don’t have friends. I won’t stop at nothing to have you sign that contract, and I’m running out of time.”  
And with that he stormed out of the apartment, leaving a confused (and a little hurt) Taekwoon behind.

\---------------------------------

Taekwoon didn’t rush after Ravi but took his time walking to work, he wanted to give the demon time to calm down after his earlier bout of anger.

But when he arrived at the last crossroad before the shop, he stopped dead in his tracks. A crowd had gathered by the street, someone was shouting for people to move away from a body lying on the ground.  
Taekwoon’s blood froze in his veins: it was Hongbin.

Taekwoon ran by his side and knelt down, panicking: Hongbin had his eyes closed, and a small pool of blood was spreading beneath him.  
“Bin-ah? Bin-ah!” Taekwoon called out, taking his hand.  
A middle-aged man was pacing frantically behind him, voice on the verge of crying: “I swear I didn’t see him! I tried to brake, I tried…”

Someone had already called the hospital, and an ambulance arrived immediately.  
Taekwoon let the paramedics do their job and just stood by them, watching. He felt something wet on his face, and silently brushed a hand over his cheek to wipe away the tears.

When the ambulance left and the crowd dispersed, he turned around, thinking that he should go hang some sign at the shop before heading to the hospital where Hongbin had been taken.  
He had just taken a step when he saw Ravi. The demon was standing by the nearest corner, frowning, gaze fixed on the spot where Hongbin was.

Taekwoon was reminded of Ravi’s last words and felt anger rise in his chest, reaching him in just a few long strides.  
“What have you done?” he growled, grabbing Ravi by the collar.  
The demon snapped out of his trance and looked at him, silent.  
“What the fuck have you done?” Taekwoon repeated louder, shaking him.  
Ravi pursed his lips, but still said nothing.

Taekwoon punched him hard, and Ravi staggered back against the wall of the building behind him.  
“Leave.” Taekwoon said, seething with rage. “I don’t want to see you anymore.”

\---------------------------------

Taekwoon arrived at the hospital half an hour later.   
Hongbin had just gotten out of the operation room, and he was still sedated. Doctors said that he was technically fine, but they would have to wait at least 24 hours to check for further complications. Taekwoon had been allowed to stay with him, since Hongbin didn’t have any close relatives living in that city.

Jaehwan arrived in the afternoon as well, after he called Hongbin’s phone and Taekwoon answered it, explaining what happened.  
“Why don’t you go rest a bit? Or eat something? I’ll stay with him.” Jaehwan said softly, placing a hand on Taekwoon’s shoulder.  
Taekwoon refused at first, he felt oddly guilty at the thought of leaving his friend’s side, but Jaehwan insisted: “You won’t be able to do much if you collapse. I promise I’ll call if we need you here.”

Taekwoon followed Jaehwan’s advice and went home for a sandwich and a shower. He had expected Ravi to be here despite what he had told him in the morning, but he wasn’t, and the house felt strangely empty.  
In the end he couldn’t take it, sleeping was not an option anymore, and he left for the hospital again.

\---------------------------------

There was a tall man dressed in black standing outside Hongbin’s room. He looked somewhat familiar, and Taekwoon remembered him as soon as he began speaking: “Where’s Ravi?” he demanded.  
“You’re his… boss.”  
“Not for much longer I’m afraid. Where is he?”  
“He almost killed my friend, I don’t care where he is.” Taekwoon replied, clenching his fists.  
The demon snorted: “As if… I knew I shouldn’t have let Ravi come here.” He sighed. “He acts tough but he can’t hurt a fly. He’s running out of time, and I gave him a hand. He was supposed to use your friend’s life as an exchange. For your soul.” 

Taekwoon was at a loss after hearing this.   
He watched as Jaehwan came out of Hongbin’s room, looking murderous: “It was you then.”  
“Aaah, Jaehwan-hyung. So long no see. I knew Ravi must have spoken with someone.”  
“Leave, Sanghyuk.”  
Sanghyuk didn’t look very impressed by Jaehwan’s threatening tone, but took a step back, hands in his pockets and grinning: “Nothing much I can do here anyway, I can’t even feel him anymore. Take care hyung!”  
The demon disappeared in a cloud of red smoke, and Taekwoon stared at the spot where Sanghyuk was for a few seconds more, frowning, before fixing his gaze on Jaehwan.

“Ravi and him both said the same thing, that he ‘was running out of time’. What does that mean?”  
Jaehwan sighed as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck: “He had a time limit to go back to Hell with your soul. He didn’t make it. Plus… he’s been here while you were home.”  
Taekwoon looked at the door of Hongbin’s room in apprehension.   
Jaehwan raised his hands in front of him as if to calm him down: “Hongbin’s fine. Ravi’s... used up his remaining magic to heal him.”  
“What…”  
“You heard Sanghyuk, he’s the one to blame. Ravi could have taken advantage of this, but he didn’t. He gave up his chance to go back to help Hongbin. I don’t know where he went after he left though.”

Taekwoon took a step back and sat down heavily on one of the chairs along the wall, groaning: “I’m so stupid. I… I was so mad that I didn’t even give him a chance to explain.”  
“Time to keep your promise to help him.” Jaehwan said softly.  
Taekwoon nodded, then stood up: “Please take care of Hongbin a little bit longer.”

\---------------------------------

Taekwoon ran out of the hospital. The sky had clouded over and a light drizzle was coming down.  
He tried to think of any particular place where the demon could have gone, but other than his place and his workplace they didn’t really go anywhere.

Taekwoon cursed and walked in the direction of his apartment. The streets were empty, partly because it was getting dark, party because it had started to rain hard now, and Taekwoon bought an umbrella in a shop before resuming his search.

Taekwoon finally found Ravi in the park close to his apartment building. He was sitting on a bench, not minding the heavy rain at all.  
When he put the umbrella over his head to shelter him, he looked up. Taekwoon felt like someone just punched him in the stomach: he had never seen the other man with such a sad, desperate look in his eyes.  
“Look at you, you’re drenched.”  
He grabbed Ravi by the elbow and tried to pull him up: “Let’s go home before you catch your death.”  
The demon laughed bitterly: “Home? What home… I don’t have one anymore.”  
“You… you always had a home, you idiot.”  
Taekwoon looked away, hoping that the other wouldn’t notice his blush. He pulled Ravi up again, and this time he moved.

Back to his apartment, Taekwoon dragged him to the bathroom. Ravi hadn’t said a single word on their way back, and even now he was being unresponsive.  
Taekwoon sighed and quickly undressed him, leaving him only with his boxers, before pushing him in the shower.  
He turned on the hot water and made to leave, but Ravi’s hand grabbed his wrist.  
Taekwoon looked at him, surprised, and found the demon staring. Ravi pulled him closer, and he stumbled into the shower, fully clothed.   
He thought he could forgive him this time, he deserved it.

Ravi pushed him against the tiled wall, one hand still gripping Taekwoon’s wrist, the other cupping his cheek.  
“Did you mean it? Did you really mean what you said before?”  
Taekwoon nodded, never breaking eye contact.  
“Thank you.” the demon whispered before leaning in and pressing his lips against Taekwoon’s.

\---------------------------------

Taekwoon made Ravi some warm soup after the shower, remembering to call Jaehwan as well, to check on Hongbin.  
“I need to apologize.” Taekwoon murmured, and Ravi stopped eating to look at him. “For this morning. I shouldn’t have presumed…”  
Ravi chuckled and ate another spoonful of soup before replying: “You don’t need to. You had all the reasons to act that way after what I said. But… I’m glad you came back for me.”  
He added that last part in a small voice, clearly embarrassed, and Taekwoon smiled.

When Taekwoon slipped under the covers, tired from the long day, he saw Ravi standing in the doorway of his room, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other, looking anywhere but at him.  
“What is it?” Taekwoon asked softly, a smile pulling at his lips.  
“I told you already, my bed is too small.” Ravi replied as he padded over to lie on the empty side of the bed.

Ravi wrapped himself all over Taekwoon and fell asleep immediately, lulled to sleep also by Taekwoon’s hand combing his soft blue hair.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Taekwoon woke up early as usual, with Ravi still snuggled against his side, snoring softly.  
He gently removed the hand that was wrapped around his middle and got up.

Ravi made his appearance only when Taekwoon had breakfast ready. He shuffled into the kitchen yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  
He pecked Taekwoon on the lips and stole his mug of coffee, adding three spoonfuls of sugar before exiting the room and heading to the bathroom.  
Taekwoon blinked and stared at the demon’s back, his fingers coming up to his mouth, cheeks flushed.

\---------------------------------

“Is Hongbin going to be alright?” Ravi asked as they were walking to the shop.  
“Yes. The doctors were puzzled that he recovered so fast, but they said they will let him come home in a couple of days at most.”

“I haven’t thanked you yet for helping Hongbin, yesterday.” Taekwoon said as he put on his apron.  
Ravi shrugged: “As much as I hate admitting it, you guys are the only people who ever treated me as a friend. He got caught up in this and didn’t deserve it.”  
“Well,” Taekwoon fisted his hands in Ravi’s shirt and pulled him closer, “thank you.”  
Without letting go, Taekwoon kissed him, nipping his lower lip when the demon finally reciprocated the kiss, asking permission before pushing his tongue between Ravi’s parted lips.  
Ravi moaned softly into Taekwoon’s mouth as they kissed, placing his hands on Taekwoon’s waist, fingers curling into the soft fabric of his shirt.  
“You’re… you’re welcome.” Ravi muttered when they finally broke the kiss.

Jaehwan came over in the afternoon, looking tired but content.  
“How are things at the hospital?” Taekwoon asked as he handed him a mug of coffee, the only thing he could get from their coffee shop with their barista missing.  
“Good. Hongbin wants to leave, but the doctors insist on running a few more tests before letting him go. He’s worried about his coffee.” Jaehwan chuckled.  
“I’ll go see him after work, feel free to stick around till closing hour if you wish.”

When Taekwoon left to attend to a customer, Jaehwan eyed Ravi up and down.  
“What?” the demon asked, feeling the sudden urge to fidget under that scrutinizing stare.  
“How are you feeling?”  
Ravi shrugged: “Normal I guess? Was I supposed to feel something?”  
“Well… you should feel quite drained, tired. You used up almost all your magic after all. But no need to worry if you feel fine.”

\---------------------------------

They left together after Taekwoon and Ravi got off work and closed the store, and arrived at the hospital before visiting hour, so they just loitered around the coffee shop for a while.  
“I… uhm… I have something to tell you.” Jaehwan began, playing with his cup.  
Taekwoon raised his eyebrows, waiting for him to go on.  
“When Hongbin woke up yesterday, he told me he remembered Ravi by his bed, and that he felt funny somehow, and stopped hurting.” He sighed, and looked at Taekwoon: “He kept asking me questions, and… I told him everything.”  
Ravi choked on his iced tea: “Everything? You-you mean…”  
Jaehwan nodded: “He’s so stubborn! He wouldn’t let me get away with it, and then he looked at me _that_ way and I… I just…”

“Who’s stubborn? I could only think of one person that fits that description, and that’s our Hongbinnie. Please introduce me to your friends, Taekwoon.”  
They all turned around to look at the person who had just arrived: a tall, tanned young man with a friendly smile, dressed in suit pants and a white shirt, his jacket slung on his arm.  
“Hakyeon.” Taekwoon smiled at him: “You forgot to add your name to the stubborn list I see.”  
“Don’t be mean!”   
Hakyeon pretended to be hurt by that comment, but Taekwoon just smiled more, his eyes turning into crescents: “What are you doing here?”  
“Hongbin called me this morning and told me what happened. I can’t believe you didn’t call me!”  
“I… I’m sorry, I’ve been busy with the hospital and the shop, and it slipped my mind. I didn’t mean to.”  
“I guess I can forgive you this time, since you’re my best friend.”

Hakyeon turned and scanned the other two: “You must be Jaehwan, right? And you’re… Ravi?”  
The smile on his face was pleasant, but it reminded Ravi of a shark. A friendly shark, he hoped. His voice was familiar, and Ravi thought about it for a few seconds before it clicked: “You must be Taekwoon’s lawyer friend, right?”  
“Oh, he talked about me? I’m flattered! My name’s Hakyeon.”  
“No, he was in the room when I called you last time.” Taekwoon interjected, and Hakyeon deflated, making Jaehwan laugh.

They moved together to Hongbin’s room, and found him sitting in bed, reading.   
Jaehwan sat down on the bed beside him, while the rest just stood by his side.  
Except for Ravi, who stopped by the door, looking like he wasn’t sure he should be allowed to be there. Taekwoon turned around and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward.

“Hey.” Hongbin greeted them with a smile.  
“How are you?” Taekwoon asked.  
“I’m good, I wish the doctors would let me go home already. Maybe they will if I pester them enough.”  
“Please let them live, what have they done to you…” Jaehwan sighed, making everyone laugh.

“Jaehwan told me about you.” Hongbin said, looking at Ravi.  
Everyone froze and glanced at Hakyeon, who looked at the people around him: “Is that… a secret? Should I just go out?”  
Before anyone could reply though,Hongbin spoke up: “No, please stay. I actually asked you to come for this matter as well, you might be of some help.”

\---------------------------------

“That’s… well, if that’s not an elaborate joke, I think I’ll need some time to think this through.” Hakyeon said when they told him the whole story so far.  
“This explains your phone call now.” he went on. “I might have to ask you guys some questions, will that be ok?”  
“Sure.” Jaehwan replied, “I think I can get you a copy of the standard contract as well if you want.”  
“Can you do that?” Hakyeon and Ravi both asked at the same time.  
Jaehwan grinned: “Leave it to me.”

\---------------------------------

“Hakyeon’s nice, for a lawyer.” Ravi said as he slipped under the blankets of Taekwoon’s bed later that night.   
“But,” he said as he moved closer and half-climbed on top of Taekwoon, “I don’t like how he clings to you so much.”  
Taekwoon tried not to smile at his frowning face: “It’s just the way he is, it doesn’t mean anything. ...don’t tell me you’re jealous?”  
“I’m not jealous.”  
“You’re pouting.”  
“I’m not pouting.”  
“Cute.”  
“Shut up!”

Ravi kissed him, and that seemed to work. Taekwoon kissed him back immediately, parting his lips when Ravi pressed the tip of his tongue over them.  
The demon shifted till he was completely on top of Taekwoon. He broke the kiss and grinned, mouthing along Taekwoon’s jaw and down his neck.

Taekwoon pulled him up for another kiss as he felt the demon’s hands slither under his shirt, caressing his sides. He shivered and sighed into Ravi’s mouth.  
“I like kissing you.” the demon murmured against Taekwoon’s lips.  
“Hmmm.” Taekwoon replied, his hand coming up to rest on the back of Ravi’s head.  
“You taste like candy… I like that.”

Ravi kept placing soft, languid kisses on Taekwoon’s lips for a while, till his movements slowed down and he eventually stopped moving, his mouth going slack over Taekwoon’s.  
“Hey.” Taekwoon whispered, poking him.  
When he received only a soft snore in reply, he smiled and gently rolled Ravi off him.  
“Good night.” he said, and turned off the lights.

\---------------------------------

Since they began living together, Ravi had never been an early riser, always getting up when Taekwoon was almost ready to leave.  
This morning was no exception, but Taekwoon found it strange that Ravi was still asleep when he went back to his room after breakfast to change.  
“Hey, sleepyhead.” he called out, pulling the blanket from Ravi’s body. The demon didn’t move.

Taekwoon sat by his side and shook him: “Come on, wake up. We’ll be late for work.”  
Still no reaction, only Ravi’s gentle snore.   
Taekwoon kept calling him and trying to wake him up, but in vain: “Ravi, wake up. This is not funny.”

Taekwoon was getting really worried: Ravi never acted like that, not even when he had to work against his will.  
He picked up his phone and quickly dialled Jaehwan’s number.  
“Hello?” a sleepy voice answered.  
“Jaehwan-ah? I’m sorry to bother you, it’s… it’s Taekwoon. I’ve got a problem with Ravi.”  
“What happened?” Jaehwan suddenly sounded more alert.  
“He fell asleep last night while we were… talking, and now he won’t wake up.”  
“You’re sure he’s sleeping normally?”  
“Yes, he’s breathing and snoring like usual, but… Is this normal for demons? You’re the only one I can ask.”  
“Don’t worry. Ravi’s just recovering some of his magic, he’ll wake up in a few hours. Or days. Most probably.”  
“Most probably?”  
“Every demon’s different. I felt weak for almost a month when I left Hell, but I’ve met a demon that slept through a whole week. Don’t forget that Ravi used up a lot of his magic all at once.”  
Taekwoon groaned.  
“It’s going to be ok, I’m sure he’ll wake up soon.”  
“Yeah, I hope so too. Thanks Jaehwan.”  
“No problem. See you later, I’ll come by the shop.”


	6. Chapter 6

Ravi opened his eyes and yawned, stretching his arms and legs.  
He rolled on the bed, and found it empty. Taekwoon’s side was still warm, and Ravi smiled.  
There was no sound from the other rooms though, so Ravi got up and went to check, but couldn’t see Taekwoon anywhere.

He was still standing in the middle of the living room, hands on his hips, wondering where the other man could have gone, when he heard the bathroom door open.  
“Hey.” Ravi grinned, greeting a bewildered-looking Taekwoon. He was drying his hair with a towel, he clearly had just come out of the shower, but froze as soon as he saw Ravi.

Taekwoon almost ran to his side, never taking his eyes off him. He patted his hands on Ravi’s face, his head, on his arms, as if checking he was real.  
“You’re up.” he said.  
Ravi snorted: “Of course. You’re weird, did you hit your head?”  
Taekwoon took Ravi’s face in his hands and kissed him hard on the mouth.

“You’ve been asleep for ten days.” he told Ravi when he broke the kiss. “Jaehwan said it could happen, but… I was worried.”  
Ravi’s eyes widened in surprise: “I… what? Fuck… well, that explains why I’m starving.”  
Taekwoon chuckled: “Go shower, I’ll fix you some breakfast.”  
“Why don’t you come help me wash?” Ravi smirked, but Taekwoon just smiled and pushed him towards the bathroom.

\------------------------------------

“Ten days… I can’t believe I’ve slept that long…” Ravi mumbled around a mouthful of pancakes soaked in syrup.  
He was sitting at the kitchen table, wearing only a towel around his waist as usual.  
Taekwoon pushed more pancakes on his plate, and Ravi grinned up at him in a silent ‘thank you’.  
“Yeah. How do you feel?”  
Ravi stopped chewing for a few seconds, thinking: “Quite normal, to be honest. I guess I’m already adjusting to this new level of magic.”  
“Do you think you’ll miss it?”  
“Can’t say… we’ll see in the next days, I’ll have to ask Jaehwan-hyung about it. For now, though,” he pushed his empty plate away and stood, pulling Taekwoon from his seat as well, “let’s think about us. I checked the calendar, today’s our day off, right?”  
“Us?” Taekwoon repeated, raising an eyebrow, a small smile playing over his lips.  
“Yeah, well… I might be a demon, but did you really think I didn’t mean the things I did?” he looked down as he said this, cheeks flushed and fingers twisted in Taekwoon’s shirt, “Didn’t… didn’t you like it?”  
“I did. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t reading too much into this.”

With a smirk, Ravi pushed Taekwoon out of the kitchen till he bumped with his back against the corridor wall.   
Taekwoon immediately flipped them over, their positions reversed, and Ravi yelped: “C-cold!”  
Chuckling, Taekwoon hid his face against Ravi’s neck, pulling him flush against him so his back wouldn’t touch the cold wall anymore.  
“I keep telling you, you should dress up after you shower. Don’t worry though,” he said, mouthing along Ravi’s neck, feeling him shiver as he whispered in his ear, “I’ll warm you up soon enough.”

Ravi grinned and pulled him down for a kiss, fast and needy, till Taekwoon began moaning in his mouth.  
Without really looking where they were going, they managed to stumble into their bedroom and fall over the still-messy covers. Ravi moved up on the bed and Taekwoon crawled after him, hovering over his body.

They kissed again, parting only when Ravi lifted Taekwoon’s shirt and pulled it off.  
“Fuck,” he whispered as he stared down Taekwoon’s naked chest, tracing the muscles with the tip of his fingers, “I’ve been dreaming of this since I came here.”  
“Did you?”  
“Yeah…” Ravi chuckled: “I couldn’t really think of seducing you if you kept refusing to sign my contract though…”

Taekwoon leaned down and began placing open-mouthed kisses along Ravi’s neck: “I’m sorry you can’t go back home.” he said between kisses, “But I’m also glad you’re staying…”  
Ravi groaned as Taekwoon kissed him behind his ear. He spread his legs, allowing Taekwoon to settle between them, and they both moaned as Taekwoon ground down and pressed their hips together.  
“These… off…” Ravi panted as he hooked his fingers in the waistband of Taekwoon’s sweatpants, trying to pull them down.

They both froze as the doorbell suddenly rang.  
Ravi swore: “Ignore it, whoever it is will eventually go away.”  
“I doubt it.” Taekwoon sighed, pulling away from Ravi who whined and tried to hold on to him. “I called Jaehwan while you were in the shower to tell him you were awake. This must be him.”  
Ravi scowled at him, and Taekwoon chuckled. He kissed him quickly, then pulled his shirt over his head and dug into his wardrobe for a large hoodie to wear and hide his still-visible bulge before leaving the room: “Dress up. I promise I’ll make it up to you later.”

When Ravi entered the living room a few minutes later, he was met by Jaehwan’s and Hongbin’s grinning faces.  
“Did we interrupt you?” Hongbin asked, smirking.  
“No.” “Yes.” both Taekwoon and Ravi answered at the same time, making Hongbin laugh out loud.

“Don’t worry,” Jaehwan said with a smile, “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. We’ll leave soon.”  
“I’m fine, thanks for coming. You can go now, I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” Ravi replied, making ‘shoo’ movements with his hands.  
“Stop being so grumpy, and play nice.” Taekwoon told him, squeezing the nape of his neck in warning. “I’m going to make some coffee, do you guys want any?”  
“Thanks. I’ll help you.” Jaehwan offered.

As soon as they left the room, Hongbin turned around to look at Ravi with a smug grin on his face.  
“What?” the demon asked, eyeing him suspiciously.  
“Nothing. So… you and Taekwoon-hyung, uh? I knew it would be just a matter of time before it happened.”  
“How…”  
“I’m happy for you guys. It was about time hyung found someone, and I think you’re perfect for each other.”  
Ravi scoffed, crossing his arms on his chest and looking away: “Thanks, I guess.” he said in a small voice.

“Did you children behave while the grown-ups were away?” Jaehwan quipped as he came back with Taekwoon from the kitchen, both of them carrying two cups of coffee.  
“Do you still feel tired?” he asked Ravi as he sipped his drink.  
“No, I feel quite normal. As if I went to sleep just last night.”  
“Hyung was beside himself with worry.” Hongbin told him, enjoying the way Taekwoon’s cheeks coloured.  
“I was not. Jaehwan told me it could happen. I… just wanted to be sure he was ok.”  
“Well, it looks like he’s perfectly fine.” Jaehwan gave both Taekwoon and Ravi a big smile. “He had to restore his magical balance, that’s why he slept for so long. You don’t look dizzy or anything, so I think it worked.”  
“Yeah. I can still feel my magic inside me, even if it’s just a low buzz now. It… it doesn’t bother me, actually.”  
“Good. There’s one last thing I need to check: since you’ll be living here now, you will need documents and such, I can help with that. Give me your full human name one of these days.”  
“You have a human name?” Taekwoon asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.  
“Of course I do, it’s Wonshik.”  
“You never told me.”  
Ravi shrugged: “I’m telling you now. It’s no big deal.”

Jaehwan and Hongbin finished their coffee then stood, ready to leave: “Guess it’s time for us to go.” Jaehwan said, heading to the door.  
“Yeah, now you can go back to whatever it was you two were doing before we came over.” Hongbin added, which gained him a punch on his arm from Taekwoon.  
“See you tomorrow at work, Bin-ah. Bye, Jaehwan-ah.”

With the door closed and their guests gone, Taekwoon took a deep breath, his hand still on the door handle.  
“I believe we still have some unfinished business, don’t we?” Ravi whispered in his ear as he came up from behind him.  
His hands on Taekwoon’s waist, he turned him around and pushed him against the door, wasting no time in kissing him.

Taekwoon eagerly returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around Ravi’s shoulders, fingers carding through his blue hair.  
He moaned softly as the demon mouthed along his neck, and gasped when Ravi palmed his cock through his pants.   
“Let’s… move from here.” he groaned, breathless.  
“Hmm…” was Ravi’s reply, too busy sucking on a patch of skin behind Taekwoon’s ear. “Yeah, let’s go…” he mumbled, but made no move to get away from where they were standing, instead slipping his fingers beneath Taekwoon’s waistband.  
And then the doorbell rang.

Once again, they froze where they stood.  
“I can’t believe this…” Ravi groaned, hiding his face against Taekwoon’s neck.  
The person on the other side of the door was now rapping against it: “Taekwoonie! Ravi-yah! Stop making out, I know you’re there!”

Taekwoon huffed and gently pushed Ravi away, fixing his clothes before opening the door: “Hakyeon. How did you get in?”  
“Is that how you greet old friends?” Hakyeon smiled, letting himself inside the apartment and tipping his shoes off, completely ignoring Taekwoon’s flushed cheeks and Ravi’s murderous gaze. “I saw Jaehwan and Hongbin downstairs as they were leaving, they let me in.” He grinned: “They also told me to be quick, because you were rather busy.”

Without waiting for a reply, he made his way to the living room, sitting down on the sofa and opening the notebook he was carrying: “I need to ask Ravi some questions if you don’t mind. Jaehwan managed to get me a copy of your contract and I’m working on it, but I want to have as many details as possible.”  
Ravi sat down next to him, while Taekwoon disappeared into the kitchen again to get Hakyeon something to drink: “Yeah, sure. What do you need?”

Taekwoon returned with a cup of hot tea for Hakyeon, and sat down on the armrest next to Ravi.  
Hakyeon began asking them to tell him the facts from the morning that Taekwoon summoned Ravi, and to be as detailed as they could.  
Taekwoon began telling what happened, since he was the one who, even if accidentally, set the whole situation into motion, while Ravi would pitch in every now and then, adding his side to the story.

Hakyeon took a lot of notes as he listened to the other two, asking them to repeat their story a few times to check for contradictions and asking questions.  
“Alright,” he finally said as he closed his notebook, “I think I’ve written everything down.”  
“What are you expecting to find?” Taekwoon asked, still perched on the armrest of the sofa.  
“I’m not sure, anything that could be used to our advantage. I’m going to compare my notes with the contract, and see if I can come up with anything.”  
He told them goodbye and to expect him to come over to the store in a few days, then left.

“Some quiet, finally.” Taekwoon murmured as he sat back down on the sofa next to Ravi.  
“Yeah.” the demon smiled.  
Taekwoon reached out and placed his hand to the back of Ravi’s head, pulling him close.  
They kissed, slowly, their bodies close enough to be touching. 

His hands on Taekwoon’s waist, Ravi gently pushed him down on the sofa, then lay on top of him.  
“Wonshik…” Taekwoon whispered, and felt the demon shiver at the sound of his name.  
“I’m sorry… does it bother you that I used your name?” he asked, frowning slightly.  
“No, I quite like it… if it’s you.” Ravi replied with a grin. “We’re not… we’re not expecting more people, are we?”  
He asked that with such a beaten puppy look on his face that Taekwoon couldn’t help but laugh: “I sure hope not.”

Soon, the quiet room was filled with the sound of their kisses and their muffled moans as their bodies ground against each other.  
Ravi had managed to take Taekwoon’s hoodie off and was now pushing his hands up the front of his shirt, brushing over his tight muscles and hard nipples… when the tv turned itself on.

“Ravi-ya!”  
Ravi yelped for the second time that day, and would have fallen off the sofa if Taekwoon didn’t grab his arm and held him up.  
Sanghyuk was grinning from the tv screen, and Ravi swore: “What now?!?”  
“I’m sorry to interrupt you guys…” Sanghyuk told them, but the smirk on his face said otherwise.  
“Cut the crap out, Hyuk. What do you want?” Ravi was clearly getting in a bad mood now. He sat on the sofa while Taekwoon got up and walked into the kitchen.

Sanghyuk raised an eyebrow in surprise at the tone: “I think I liked it more when you called me ‘boss’.”  
“Well, not going to happen. I got expelled from Hell, remember? You’re not my boss anymore.”  
“I know, I know…” Sanghyuk raised his hands in front of him to placate him. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”  
Ravi squinted at him, suspicious: “Why?”  
“Can’t I be worried about my precious underling?” Sanghyuk pretended to look offended by Ravi’s accusatory tone.  
“No. You don’t do anything unless it brings you some kind of benefit.” Ravi crossed his arms over his chest and waited.   
Sanghyuk’s grin widened: “You know me well… hyung. Well, Father was rather pissed about what happened, and told me to give you another chance. What do you s-”

Sanghyuk’s face disappeared and was replaced by white noise.  
Ravi blinked and looked up to see Taekwoon pouring something white over the power cord of the tv and all around it.  
“How did you know salt would work even with that?” he chuckled.  
Taekwoon shrugged: “I didn’t, I just hoped it would.” He let out a resigned sigh: “I’m going to go make dinner.”

While Taekwoon cooked, Ravi just lay on the sofa, flipping through channels and thinking about what Sanghyuk told him.   
Another chance? Was that even possible? Or just another trick? And would Ravi take that chance were it a real possibility? Would he abandon his life on earth now that he finally found friends and… maybe something else?  
He growled under his breath: why was everything so difficult?

“Wonshikkie?” Taekwoon asked, popping his head out of the kitchen, “Are you going to eat?”  
He smiled as he took in the sleeping form of the demon, curled up on the sofa: “I guess not.”  
He sat down next to him and ate in silence, retrieving the remote from Ravi’s hands and watching some old rom-com till it was time to finally head to bed.   
Ravi hadn’t woken up yet, Taekwoon hoped he wouldn’t sleep for ten more days.

“Wonshik?” he called, shaking him gently. “Shik-ah? It’s time to go to bed.”  
Ravi opened his eyes, blinking, and Taekwoon almost sighed in relief.  
“Wha…”  
“Let’s go to sleep.”  
“Sleep? What time is it?”  
“It’s late, you fell asleep while watching tv.”  
“Oh. Sorry…”  
Taekwoon smiled at the apology: “It’s ok, don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry about today.” Ravi told him later, when they slipped under the blankets and he snuggled up against Taekwoon.  
“I told you, it’s ok.”  
“Yeah, still…”  
Taekwoon chuckled and pecked him on the lips: “You’re not going anywhere anymore, right? We have all the time we want. Sleep now.”

\------------------------------------

Ravi opened his eyes and looked around the room: pitch black. It must still be quite early, he thought.  
He got up, as quiet as possible, trying not to wake up Taekwoon. His throat felt parched and he needed a glass of water.

He padded over to the kitchen in the dark, drank, and, just as quietly, went back to bed.  
He had almost reached it when he tripped over something, and he swore as he barely managed to avoid falling on his face.  
“Wonshik?” a sleepy voice came from the bed.  
“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry I woke you up.” Ravi replied, slipping back under the covers and moving close to Taekwoon, who immediately wrapped his arm around Ravi’s waist.  
“It’s ok. Can’t sleep?” he asked, moving in the dark and tentatively placing a kiss at the corner of Ravi’s lips.  
“Just thirsty.” the demon replied, cupping Taekwoon’s face and kissing him back.  
“Hmm.”

Taekwoon’s kisses were soft all over his face and lips, and Ravi giggled when Taekwoon’s long fingers tickled his side as he lifted up his shirt and caressed the warm skin.  
“Don’t worry about this, you must be sleepy.” he said between kisses, “I can wait.”  
“But I can’t.” Taekwoon whispered, hooking his leg around Ravi’s hips and rolling on the bed till he was lying on his back, Ravi on top of him.

“I was dreaming, before you woke me up.” Taekwoon whispered as he slipped his hand behind Ravi’s neck, bringing their foreheads together.  
“Oh yeah? What kind of dream?” Ravi asked, rubbing the tip of his nose against Taekwoon’s and peppering his cheek and jaw with small kisses.  
Taekwoon moaned softly: “You’re distracting me…”  
Ravi chuckled, but didn’t stop, instead nuzzling lower, along his neck: “Not sorry… Tell me about your dream. Was I in it?”  
Taekwoon licked his lips: “Remember yesterday, when you asked me to go shower with you? I… I dreamed I followed you, instead of turning you down.”

Ravi lifted his head and leaned to the side, turning the nightstand lamp on.   
He squinted against the sudden light and grinned at Taekwoon: “That’s interesting. What then?”  
Taekwoon wrapped both his legs around Ravi’s hips and pulled him closer, grinding their hips together, sure that the demon would feel his hard cock through his pants: “Is this a good enough reply?”

Ravi’s breath caught: he pressed Taekwoon into the mattress, their bodies flush, taking his lower lip between his teeth and swiping his tongue along it before kissing him deeply.  
He growled when he felt Taekwoon moan in his mouth, his arm tightly wrapped around his neck to keep him close.

Ravi grabbed the hem of Taekwoon’s shirt, pulled it over his head and threw it somewhere on the floor, quickly followed by his own.  
He began kissing Taekwoon’s neck, his hands roaming over his chest and going lower, over his crotch, palming his erection.

Taekwoon gasped, and Ravi pressed his hand down again, stroking Taekwoon’s cock through his pants.  
“Wonshik… please…” Taekwoon moaned, his back arching.  
Ravi groaned, his cock twitching at the sound of Taekwoon’s voice calling his name.   
He quickly pulled down both his and Taekwoon’s pants, and then knelt beside him, staring: “I…”

“Come here.” Taekwoon whispered, pulling the demon down for a long, deep kiss.  
He pulled away and opened the drawer of his bedside table, looking for something. He fished out a small bottle and a foil packet, and handed both to Ravi, who took them and moved between Taekwoon’s spread legs.

He grabbed one of Taekwoon’s legs and kissed the inside of his thigh right above the knee.   
He moved lower, and the kisses became gentle bites, teeth lightly scraping the soft skin and leaving pink trails.  
He did the same on the other thigh, making sure to suck a nice purple spot close to where hip and leg met.

He stood back and looked at the man lying on the bed: flushed and panting,Taekwoon was a total wreck. His hand was wrapped around his cock and was stroking it lazily, but his eyes were blown and fixed on the demon.

Ravi squeezed some lube on his slightly trembling fingers, and began stretching him.  
He leaned down to kiss him, swallowing every little noise Taekwoon made. He shivered when he pushed another finger inside of him, and Taekwoon’s moans got a little louder and the grip on Ravi’s arms tighter.

When Taekwoon was ready, Ravi took the little foil packet and turned it over in his hands, brows knit.  
“What’s this?” he finally asked Taekwoon, who first blinked, then snorted.  
“You don’t have condoms in Hell?”  
“We don’t really have any use for them.”  
“How-”  
Ravi raised an eyebrow and interrupted him: “Do you really want me to give you a lesson on demonic sex customs _right now_?”

Taekwoon was about to laugh, but he saw how Ravi’s cheeks were turning pink, so he bit his lip and said nothing. He took the packet from the demon’s hands and tore it open.  
“Let me do it.” he murmured. He gave Ravi’s cock a squeeze before rolling the condom on it and coating it with lube.

Ravi settled back between Taekwoon’s legs and slowly pushed himself inside of him.  
He stilled, breath shaking, and leaned down over Taekwoon’s body, who wrapped both arms and legs around him.

They kissed, then Ravi got hold of one of his thighs and began rolling his hips in a languid rhythm.  
He leaned back and once again stared at Taekwoon: eyes half-lidded, mouth slightly parted and panting softly, hand wrapped around his cock.  
“I’m glad it was you who summoned me…” Ravi whispered. Taekwoon gave him a half-smile before closing his eyes and moaning as Ravi hit a particularly pleasant spot.

Taekwoon came first, with a quiet gasp and eyes fluttering shut, and Ravi followed right after with a groan, collapsing on top of Taekwoon.  
“Hey.” Taekwoon poked him.  
“Hmm.”  
“Move. We’re making a mess.”  
“Hmm.”

Very slowly, Ravi pulled out and rolled on the bed, grabbing some tissues from the nightstand drawer and cleaning up.  
“Shower tomorrow. Now let’s cuddle.” he mumbled.  
Taekwoon chuckled: “Are you sure you’re a demon?”  
“Shut up and kiss me.”

\------------------------------------

“What?” Ravi stopped whistling and glared at Hongbin.  
“Nothing.” he grinned. “You just seem so… happy since you came back to work.”  
His grin turned into a smirk as he leaned on the counter: “I guess your day off ended well for you and Taekwoon-hyung the other day, uh?” he wiggled his eyebrows and then ducked away, laughing, as Ravi threw his empty plastic cup after him.  
“That’s none of your business!”

“Bin-ah, can you please stop teasing Wonshik?”  
Taekwoon appeared at that moment, Hakyeon at his side.  
“Why? He’s so much fun to tease!”  
Ravi glared again at Hongbin, who just laughed again.

“I know you kids are having so much fun, but I brought some news that might interest you.” Hakyeon sat down at one of the tables of the coffee shop, and Taekwoon took the chair next to him. It was just past closing time, so they all gathered in the coffee shop, not worrying about any late customer walking in while they talked.  
Ravi stood behind Taekwoon’s chair, and looked at Hakyeon in curiosity: “What did you find?”  
“Yeah, I’m curious as well, what did you find?” a new voice exclaimed.

Everyone turned around to look at a grinning Sanghyuk leaning on a bookcase.  
“What are you doing here?” Ravi growled.  
“Calm down, I’m not planning on doing anything. I was just curious, like I said. I can find out what he tells you even if you throw me out now, you know that.”

Hakyeon looked at Ravi, who gave a tiny nod, before speaking: “Well… according to what Taekwoon and Ravi told me, the wishes had been granted not only without Taekwoon explicitly asking for them-”  
“That’s not an issue, according to our own lawyers.” Sanghyuk interjected. Hakyeon glared at him, but the demon just grinned back.  
“No, that might not be an issue for you demons, but it’s usually an infringement of human laws. Therefore Taekwoon wasn’t obligated to sign Ravi’s contract. But that was not the point I was trying to make: there was a point of your story that sounded a bit wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was at first. Then I realized what it was that bugged me: Ravi, you’ve been granting wishes _before_ Taekwoon even completed the summoning sign.”  
“Yeah, I guess I did…” he frowned, “Does it matter?”

They were interrupted by a slow clap and a whistle. Everybody turned around to look once again at Sanghyuk.  
“Well done. I knew there was a reason why we don’t usually involve lawyers. You’re pretty smart, have you ever thought about coming to our side?”  
Hakyeon snorted: “You wish. So you figured this out as well, didn’t you?”  
“Yeah, I didn’t pay enough attention and this happened. Ravi-ya-... _hyung_, even you can understand that this means that the contract can be considered void, right?”  
Ravi was looking at Sanghyuk with wide eyes: “I… what?”  
“You can return to Hell and get your job back. I’ll come back here tomorrow night to pick you up.”  
And with that, Sanghyuk disappeared in a red cloud.

“Well, that was it. I guess I’ll be going as well.” Hakyeon stood and picked up his jacket from the back of the chair.   
“Think about what you want to do,” he told Ravi, “and call me if you need any advice, ok?”  
“Hyung, wait for me.” Hongbin called out for Hakyeon. Before leaving, he turned to Ravi and gave him a small smile: “You don’t have to go with him if you don’t want to, you know…” he murmured.  
Ravi smiled back: “Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

\------------------------------------

“You haven’t said a word since we left the store.” Ravi said when he and Taekwoon reached their apartment.  
“Hmm.”  
“Will that be all I get from you tonight?” Ravi crossed his arms and stood in front of Taekwoon, blocking his path. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”  
Taekwoon tried to walk past Ravi, but when he couldn’t, he sighed deeply: “You have an important decision to make. I didn’t want to bother you.”  
Ravi’s eyebrows shot up in surprise: “Woah, wait. Why does everyone think that I want to leave?”  
“Why, isn’t that what you want?”   
Ravi pouted: “Why didn’t you ask me instead of making assumptions? You did that once already and ended up punching me.”  
Taekwoon blinked: “I… You want to stay? Even if you have a chance to go back home and get your magic back?”  
“I thought that was pretty clear, after last night…” Ravi murmured, looking at everything but Taekwoon as his cheeks turned red.

Taekwoon took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Ravi’s waist, leaning against him and hiding his face against his neck.  
“Thank you.”  
“I should be the one thanking you. Let’s go eat now, I’m hungry and I think you owe me some pancakes.”


End file.
